Why is device information so important to network operators?
With operators and subscribers adopting a digital-first mindset, we are experiencing a fundamental shift in customers’ expectations. To meet this challenge, operators are increasingly looking for ways to ensure a seamless experience for their customers through tailored interactions.
To enable this, operators need a deep understanding of the devices adopted by their subscribers.
DeviceMine from WDS Mobile identifies and understands the devices on your network, generating valuable insights and enabling optimization of the experience for all customers. At WDS, we’ve been capturing device data for over 20 years and through continuous updates, DeviceMine can resolve 100% of valid TAC codes to make, model and a wide range of advanced characteristics.
By understanding the capabilities of a subscriber’s device, you can:
- Determine network requirements of attached devices and plan capacity
- Put a value on devices for re-use, re-sale & replacement
- Segment your subscriber-base for upsell campaigns for device upgrades and value-added services
- Apply heuristics to detect fraudulent behavior
- Offer personalized services and experiences tailored for the device through apps and additional channels
Read on to find out more about how operators are using our DeviceMine solution and how your business can benefit.
Determine network requirements of attached devices and plan capacity
With connections to 5G expected to double in 2022 to 1.4 billion, operators must be able to plan network capacity accordingly. By identifying the network capabilities of the subscriber base, DeviceMine enables network operators to ensure that the infrastructure can support the expected traffic volumes.
DeviceMine can also help network operators identify customers who are not using 4G/5G, and more importantly, understand the reasons behind this. Faulty device configurations, roaming restrictions and devices shipped to customers with 4G and 5G features disabled reduce data consumption, degrade the customer experience, and inhibit revenue growth.
By identifying the underlying reasons for the lack of 4G and 5G usage, operators are finding personalized solutions to help each of their customers get the most out of their devices, and so can your business. Personalized communications help create more specific user content, allowing you to educate users who don’t have the right setup on their devices about the capabilities of 5G usage and how to enable it on their specific devices.
In addition to educational content, the data collected with our DeviceMine solution can help you create targeted campaigns allowing you to reach only customers who can use 4G and 5G and exclude customers with less capable devices, making their mobile experience better.
Put a value on devices for re-use, re-sale & replacement
The challenge to businesses to reduce environmental waste has never been greater, and operators have a responsibility to ensure that they have a trade-in offer in place.
WDS works with operators to help them understand the value of each subscriber’s device so that they can be re-used and resold when they come to the end of their journey with the customer. Using the wide range of attributes captured by DeviceMine, operators can determine the current market value of devices. Understanding device value enables reverse-logistics & device insurance use cases, creating additional revenue streams and supporting environmental sustainability goals.
Segment your subscriber-base for upsell campaigns for device upgrades and value-added services
Mobile networks compete in a highly contested market, and the pressure is on to reduce churn and increase the lifetime value of each subscriber.
Through offering a wide range of value-added services, either directly or through WASPs (Wireless Application Service Provider) and/or over-the-top service, operators can increase the average revenue per user.
Using DeviceMine, operators can identify which devices on their network are likely to adopt these offers and can segment their subscriber base accordingly for subsequent campaigning.
For example, an operator may choose to run campaigns against the latest iOS device owners as potential high value customers, or you may need to exclude devices such as 4G/5G based routers from campaigns that target smartphones in general.
Combining device data with subscriber demographics can reveal opportunities to upsell data bundles to segments more likely to engage on data rich social platforms such as YouTube.
Finally, mobile networks can identify older devices closer to obsolescence and offer them device upgrades selected specifically for their needs and provide device buy-back options.
Apply heuristics to detect fraudulent behavior
According to the OECD (the Organization for Economic Co-Operation & Development), nearly one in five mobile phones and one in four video game consoles shipped internationally is fake, as a growing trade in counterfeit IT and communications hardware weighs on consumers, manufacturers, and public finances.
Counterfeit ICT goods entail health and safety risks, service outages and loss of income for companies and governments. China is the primary source of fake ICT goods, and US manufacturers are the most hit by lost revenue and erosion of brand value. Almost 43% of seized fake ICT goods infringe the IP rights of US firms, followed by 25% for Finnish firms and 12% for Japanese firms.
These devices often contain malware and once attached to a network can compromise the security of both subscribers and organizations.
Using DeviceMine, operators can compare device specifications with demonstrated device behavior, and then flag these devices for further investigation.
DeviceMine can additionally be integrated in such a way that these details are analyzed and used to further update the DeviceMine registry and can also update the global GSMA IMEI Database to flag the device to networks and approved partners.
Offer personalized services and experiences tailored for the device through apps and additional channels
Operators are driving towards digitalization, now further accelerated by the pandemic. Customer care functions have seen a trend towards digital channel adoption during this time, and by understanding subscriber device capability, are able to properly prioritize channel digitization (e.g. WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, RCS, web). Furthermore, each conversation in these digital channels can be personalized for the subscriber by adding device context to automated and human interactions.
Integrated within these channels, DeviceMine gives you the opportunity to educate users about the capabilities of their smartphone, make product recommendations and troubleshoot issues relating to device feature availability.
In addition, many operators are deploying super-apps which provide multiple services including payment and financial transaction processing, effectively becoming all-encompassing self-contained commerce and communication platforms that embrace many aspects of personal and commercial life.
By combining subscriber data with device information, operators can understand the total addressable market by app store & device capability. This also offers benefits regarding promotion of 3rd party apps and services.
Key takeaways:
- Operators use our DeviceMine solution to create personalized and targeted campaigns, update offers and create a better user experience for their customers
- DeviceMine helps you identify the devices on your network that can use networks like 5G, allowing you to create personalized communications
- With our solution, you can easily understand what kind of devices your customers are using and how old the devices are
- Using DeviceMine, operators can compare device specifications to identify fraudulent behavior
Would you like to learn more about the WDS DeviceMine solution? Visit our website or contact us directly using the form below.